Big Game Indy-Style

I'm not sure what is happening with the weather this week in Indiana...but let me tell you my car told me it was 50 degrees outside at 6:30 a.m. this morning...crazy!

It is so exciting to have such great weather as Indianapolis gets geared up to host the "Big Game" (not using the trademarked name...just in case). Hopefully, the weather holds through the weekend so we can show everyone that a "cold weather" city can be just as fun as those "warm weather" ones.

The weather is SO nice that the ice sculptures are melting! Who would have thought?

I headed downtown after work last night to experience festivities. We didn't have tickets to the NFL Experience or for the zipline (I'm bummed about that) but it was fun to see how downtown has been transformed and see all the people enjoying themselves.

I only snapped a couple of shots so to get the full experience, head over to Amy's post at a Latte with Ott, A. She and her husband did the whole experience (minus the zipline)!

 Coldplay was blasting from the speakers on the Circle.

Was hoping that they were playing a surprise concert...

They weren't!

 Can you see the folks on the zipline?

Love the SB Gnome window display!

Call These Irresistible

I am a sucker for a good trilogy or series when it comes to books.

Hook me with the first book and I guarantee that I'll read the rest...I just can't resist.

I know most genres have authors who carry characters through multiple books and I don't know about you, but I appreciate it. That's one thing I really dislike about most movies...once it's over, I don't know what happens next.

Did these two stay together and is Gammy still alive and kicking?

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest

I'm serious...I really want to know!

I guess that's why I like authors who stick with characters for more than one book. I tend to read a lot of romance...I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Though I am working my way through Stieg Larsson's trilogy, starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy).

The Queen of the Trilogies (at least in romance) is Nora Roberts. From the "Born In" trilogy - Born in Fire (Born in Trilogy, Book 1) to the more recent "Bride Quartet" - Vision in White (The Bride Quartet, Book 1) there are only a few of her books that I have chosen not to read over the years.

Lately, I have enjoyed authors who can make me laugh out loud as I make my way through their books. The Fool's Gold series - Chasing Perfect (Fool's Gold, Book 1) - by Susan Mallery does just that. It's about a community in California that is seriously lacking men and run by some very funny, opinionated and strong women. I'm totally excited that Book 7 in this series is coming later this year...I think she can keep this series rolling for a long time.

Speaking of authors that keep a "series" or at least keeps developing her characters over the years, Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a master at this. While my favorite SEP books revolve around a fictional football team in Chicago, including This Heart of Mine and Nobody's Baby But Mine, her latest book, Call Me Irresistible: A Novel, inspired this post!

I picked up the hardcover version at my local used bookstore over the weekend and read it straight through this morning! Its main characters are the children of the antagonists from her earlier novels, Fancy Pants, First Lady and Glitter Baby. While the original books were not my favorite, I really enjoyed reacquainting myself with the characters in this setting.

My one dislike of book series...the length of time between books! Who can wait 2-3 months to find out what happens next?!?

Any suggestions on authors I should try? I'm supposed to be working my way through these books, but I'm always willing to add a few books to my list!

Note: The product links on this page are affiliate links...wanted you to be able to see what I was talking about. Look for these books in your library, local used bookstore, on Amazon or ask a friend to borrow their copy, it's your choice!

Friday Thoughts

It's Friday!! I'm so ready for the weekend. 

Didn't this work week seem like it was 7 days long?

I just don't have the brain power to write anything thought-provoking...wait a minute, that doesn't happen on a day when my brain is charged fully!

So here are some Friday thoughts/confessions that I just needed to share.

1.  Went to my alma mater this week to catch a men's basketball game. Here's the only photo I took...Instagram makes it look arty when it's really just out of focus! There's nothing like going back to the place you spent your years between 18-22 to make you feel OLD. I swear those college kids look 10...I probably look 40 to them!

2.  Speaking of college kids, there were NO male cheerleaders at the game. What's up with that? I'm not a huge watcher of the cheers but I enjoy it more when a 100-pound co-ed gets thrown in the air by a couple of cute guys!

3.  Speaking of cheerleaders, my sister and I think it must be a rule that they have to have long hair - there was not one with a shoulder-length cut, let alone a bob or pixie cut! We decided that neither of us could have ever been a cheerleader due to our hair (and our lack of coordination and inability to do a back flip).

4.  Speaking of hair, I grew mine out (not enough to be a Purdue cheerleader) for a while but recently got it cut to my shoulders but I'm just not feeling it. Thinking about layers...thoughts? I just don't know what to do!

5.  Speaking of Purdue (how did we get back here?), being back on campus reminded me of just how much I love it. I guess it was destiny as some of my earliest memories is of sitting in front of our old console TV watching Gene Keady yell at inspire his players while my dad yelled right along with him. It was a running joke that our TV had a direct feed to Keady's ear!

Reminds me of the bumper sticker that hung on the bulletin board in my room back in the day..."Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God."

Boiler Up!

Pantry Cooking Pinterest Style

Source: Uploaded by user via Megan on Pinterest

Well, I had no bacon in the house but I did have the ingredients for a dish on Pinterest that I have had my eye for quite a while. Unfortunately, I took NO pictures of it (though it isn't the most eye-appealing dish)...hence the photo above...had to have some visual on here.

Have you seen this pin?

Luckily, I had all of the ingredients in my pantry and freezer to put this together on Sunday morning. I love when a plan comes together!

Mel over at The Larson Lingo shared this recipe on her blog and admitted that it doesn't really have a name. I'll call it Slow-Cooked Salsa-Style Chicken...be sure to go to Mel's blog to see the final product.

Here are the directions. Believe me you need to try this. I served it over rice and it was delicious. I had leftovers tonight and it was as good (or better) than yesterday's serving.

Slow-Cooked Salsa-Style Chicken

Bag of frozen chicken thighs (2.5-3 lbs.) - could use chicken tenderloins or breasts
8 oz. cream cheese
Can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
Can of corn (drained)
Can of seasoned diced tomatoes (I used Red Gold's Lime and Cilantro Petite Diced Tomatoes - GO Indiana company - but you could use a store brand or Rotel.)

Place chicken into the crock pot (I always use the plastic liners...clean up is so much easier.) and top with cream cheese. Add the black beans, corn and tomatoes. Put the lid on and cook on slow for 6-8 hours.

Stir every two hours...it looks very bland but don't let that worry you!

Mine was done at 6 hours...assuming all crock pots are a bit different. When chicken is done, turn off the crock pot and let set for 30-45 minutes to allow it to thicken.

Serve over rice or whatever you want! I served peas with the meal and ended up mixing them with the chicken and it was yummy.

I'm very excited that the recipe lived up to the hype on Pinterest!

If you want to see some of the other recipes that I've tried from Pinterest...check out my "Recipes I've Tried" board.

Linking to Beyer Beware's Hunk of Meat Monday linky party. Be sure to check out here 3 Cheese Baked Spaghetti...yummy!

Stand In Parenting Fail

So, I recently experience life as a single working mother aunt while Baby Sister and her husband spent a week on a cruise ship. I only had her for four nights (I don't think my sister trusted me for any longer than that).

I'm used to just taking care of myself - and then probably not that well - so having a 15-month-old added to the mix was quite the experience.

I'm happy to report that she is alive and well, but that's about it. 

Here are a few things that I failed at as a stand-in parent:

• Baths...she may have only gotten one, on the day before her parents were due back.
• Feeding...she may have eaten a lot of Puffs, bread and crackers (she just wasn't into the green beans and carrots).
• Nose wiping...the daycare was probably appalled at the dried boogers on the girl's face when I brought her in the morning. On the bright side, the boogers were gone when I picked her up! (Sorry for mentioning boogers...but it's kind of fun to say and write. Boogers!)
• Hair...major fail on this end. She has very fine blond hair and the ladies at daycare usually put it up in cute ponytails all over her head.

Here's a very grainy photo of what her hair looked like after daycare...should have gotten a shot of it from the back.

Here are some photos of her hair that night when I took the ponytail holders out...

Unfortunately, I waited until right before bedtime to take them out so she went to bed looking like this and you can just imagine what her hair looked like the next morning! 

I'm pretty sure the ladies at daycare will have something to say to my sister about my stand-in parenting skills!

Single White Napkin

Just couldn't resist picking up this package of beverage napkins at Target the other day.

They made me giggle!

What I Cannot Resist

When I get one of these in the mail, I just cannot seem to stop myself from heading to Kohl's "just to see if there is anything there that I cannot do without."

Especially at an extra 30 percent off!

So, here's a look at some items that I just cannot seem to resist EVER.

 Black Cardigans

(or any other color of cardigan...seriously I probably have 30 of them)

Cute Girls' Clothes

(now with 2 nieces I'm not sure I should be allowed in the Kid's Section) 

 Vera Wang Flats on clearance

(this is my third pair...enough said)

Dish Towels or Washcloths on clearance

(this is the oddest of all but I promised to show you everything)

What are some things that you seem to gravitate towards when you are shopping?

Disclaimer: All the opinions in this post are mine, like they always are. Kohl's doesn't know who I am, except to send me my credit card statements AND coupons!